Autopsy results indicate Troy man drowned

Stacy Langley

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, July 6, 2004

On Tuesday afternoon Dr. John Liao of Huron Medical Center in Bad Axe conducted an autopsy on Michael James Carter, finding Carter's cause of death was in fact due to drowning. However, Liao speculated that Carter first succumbed to hypothermia before he drowned.

Carter was a passenger riding a 1997 SeaDoo personal watercraft that left a cottage around 7:15 p.m. Sunday with two friends, Lyndsay McGarry, 18, of Auburn Hills, who was driving the watercraft, and Kerry Melenovsky, 18, of Rochester Hills, when a large wave overturned the watercraft about a mile off shore.

The three were able to roll the three-passenger watercraft upright after it was overturned in the water, but were unable to get it started again. All three were wearing life jackets and stayed with the vessel for a while before McGarry and Melenovsky decided to swim to shore just about 30 minutes before the sun set, leaving Carter behind with the watercraft.

McGarry and Melenovsky told police they last saw Carter with the vessel when they began to swim to shore. Moments later they could not see him or the vessel due to rough waters.

A search for Carter began in the area between Sleeper State Park and Oak Beach. Huron County Sheriff's Marine officers also called the U.S. Coast Guard from the Harbor Beach and Tawas stations to help in the search - each station sent a boat. After midnight, two Coast Guard helicopters from Detroit joined in the search.

Shortly after sunrise Monday morning the watercraft the three were riding was found floating along the shoreline at Jenks Park.

The search for Carter continued until his body was discovered at 8:39 a.m. Monday floating near the shoreline in Slavins Point, 4 miles east from where the three jet skiers left from the night before. When Carter was found he was still wearing his life jacket.